Purchases via affiliate links help defray the cost of this website. Thank you!

To describe my job as high-pressure would not be an exaggeration. I am responsible for a huge database and moving data from one system to another, constantly working to find better and faster ways to do this.

At home, I read and I blog. And being a bit of a perfectionist, I sometimes work very hard on posts, making sure they are worded just right. Then there is the coordinating of posts, contacting authors and blog tour companies and the myriad of things that are related to this.

Growing up, art and crafts were a large part of my life. My mom has always loved these things and encouraged us in our creativity. I took several years of art classes in school and loved them, though I never felt that I was good at what I did. My painting and drawings never looked like I wanted them to!

My opportunities for art became fewer and farther between as I got older, or so it would seem. Even most of the photography I do seems to be for other people and therefore comes with more of a requirement to be, well, perfect.

Enter the Ellie Claire Art Journals. I was given an opportunity to receive three of these journals in hopes that I would share a review. I was drawn to the cover of one in particular and so I jumped at this chance.

Synopsis:

New from professional letterer Krystal Whitten! With guides, instructions, and tutorials, this is a fun and inspiring way to create beauty with words. It is the perfect place for journalers to practice Bible journaling, lettering quotes and verses, or decorating a page with original thoughts and plans. Exploring your God-given creativity has never been so rewarding.

I would like to thank for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.

I have to say that I am in love with this journal! Everything about it makes my heart happy.

The cover is lovely. It is hardback with embossing and gilding on the front cover and a gilded title on the spine. There is a very cleverly placed elastic band on the spine that can be used to hold a pen or pencil. Just holding the journal is a pleasure and I may have spent time rubbing my hands across the cover just to luxuriate in the feel of it, though you’ll never be able to prove it. It is really that nice. The journal opens flat and stays open with no effort, even when it is at the beginning or end of the book.

The flyleaf is a pretty teal green with embellishments and gives a sense of elegance to the book. There is an introduction explaining what Faith and Lettering is and describing how you can use the journal. Then comes the fun part. The following pages are a combination of blank journal pages, examples of Faith and Lettering, instructional pages for how to create letters and some of the embellishments and even space to practice.

The pages themselves are a bright white, smooth with a nice thickness that gives them a sense of durability. The blank pages vary from being ruled (with finely dotted lines instead of solid ones) with a wide margin, having subtly colored dots spaced so that if you were to connect them they make little squares (yeah, there is most likely a technical name for this), or gridded with small squares.

Here is an example of one of the practice pages. The section on the left was already there in black. The next section has the lettering there in a light pink so it can be traced. After that, there are four additional columns to be used to recreate it. By the time I had gotten to the third section, I decided to play with other concepts in the book to make it my own. After all, that is the point! As strange as this might sound, the process of coming up with my own way of illustrating the verse was like opening the floodgates of creativity that has been closed for far too long! It was so freeing and almost cleansing to play around with this. Not to mention that in taking the time to write the verse out in a creative way while taking time to make it look nice was a wonderful way to really meditate on it.

This is the journal that I’m the most excited about. I love the style the author uses for her lettering and embellishments and would even love to see a journal like this (cover design and the dotted pages) minus the coaching pages that I could get to do more journaling and creating more quote images once I fill this one.

Synopsis:

Just as medieval monks brought the Scripture to life through intricate inked illustrations in handwritten manuscripts, you can now create your own masterpiece of color and design. Copy Scripture as a spiritual exercise or record your own thoughts and prayers on the pages. Your words and art will unite to create a keepsake that will be a treasure for years to come.

I would like to thank for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.

This journal is described as a “coloring journal”. The pages are a combination of ruled lines and coloring pages, with some pages having full-color illustrations taken from the archives of the Museum of the Bible in the corners for inspiration. The coloring pages are created from the same source.

This hardcover journal has embossing and gilding on the cover. It has a very nice feel to it and the cover design fits well with the images inside. The flyleaf has an elegant feel. The actual pages of the journal are lined and are a cream color. The feel of the pages is more like watercolor paper or thick coloring book paper. It has a wonderful binding that allows it to stay open easily whether you are on the first page or in the middle of the journal.

The style of the illustrations reminds me of medieval church art, which I guess a lot of it is. There are many repeated motifs on the pages and intricate designs. While the style of the art is not necessarily one that I gravitate to, I imagine that I will enjoy spending time relaxing and coloring the pages as I have already started doing.

Synopsis:

Use this almost-lost art of illuminating letters to enhance your writing, Bible journaling, or sermon note-taking. Rich illustrated manuscripts in the Museum of the Bible’s collection inspired these gorgeous letters. Easy to follow instructions, practice pages, and encouragements guide you through the creation of amazing start letters, flourishes, and more.

I would like to thank for giving me this copy of the book. This gift did not influence my opinion or review.

Illuminate Your Story has a lovely cream colored cover with a simple yet elegant embossed design. There is a nice texture to it. The binding is almost like a grosgrain ribbon in texture and there is an elastic pen loop which is a very nice touch. There is also an elastic band that can be used to either keep the journal closed or to mark a specific page. The flyleaf is elegant. Other than the introduction pages, they are bright white. There are journaling pages that are ruled and have quotes from the Bible and various people ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Eddie Cantor.

A large percentage of the book is dedicated to showing how to create illuminated letters, which are those large, beautiful capital letters you see in older, heavily embellished books. There are six different styles that are described and used. They are clever and whimsical and elaborate and everything in between.

I consider this more for instruction and practice rather than for use as an everyday journal as the number of journaling pages is so small compared to the lettering pages. With the price of art books, this is a great book to get to learn how to do illuminated letters. I am pleased with this and look forward to experimenting with the concepts.